Tag Archives: Bah Humbug!

Decided to share this again. Since I was a child, I would watch countless adaptations of A Christmas Carol on TV and in the movies. I’ve seen variations of the character of Scrooge played by the likes of Alec Guinness, Susan Lucci, Jim Carrey, Vanessa Williams, and Scrooge McDuck. I even read the novel way back, when I was into a Reading the Classics Phase, which is a great phase to be in, frankly. We learn from the masters. In 25-words or less, A Christmas Carol is a story of a mean, hard-hearted person who hates Christmas and all it stands for i.e. love, charity, and warm fuzzy slippers. On that fateful Christmas Eve, if antacids had been around, the novel might have taken a different turn. Ebenezer Scrooge might have uttered, “Cripes! It was an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. Someone pass me a Tums.” But being a genius writer, Dickens has Scrooge find his inner self, thanks to an unending supply of colorful and inventive ghosts who are out to show he doesn’t have to be the rat-fink he thinks himself to be. It is touch and go for awhile, but kindness and mercy win out. Love of fellowman scores a touchdown. And we, the readers, cheer from the sidelines. Yes, you can be a B&BP (bigger and better person) if only you try. Taking this story to heart since I was around five-years old, I was convinced it was possible to help change a person’s character. Yes, enlighten them as to the good in everyone, help them to see the gentler part of humankind, that which sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom, and you’ve got something. Although, according to Lila Hamilton Alvarez, the matriarch of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, what sets us apart from…

The Culinary Art of Murder, Book 6 of the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries, is now available at Amazon!

Blurb:
Lee’s Uncle Tío is smitten with the lady guest chef at a Silicon Valley culinary art institute. When the lady is arrested for two murders, a fellow chef, and the dishwasher, Lee agrees to help find the real killer. But undercover work at the institute proves to be more dangerous than whipping up a chocolate soufflé. Can she find the murderer before her own goose is cooked? If it turns out to be the ambitious southern belle chef, will Tío ever forgive Lee for sending his new lady love to jail?

Honeymoons Can Be Murder is now available for download only at Amazon!

When PI Lee Alvarez goes on her honeymoon with bridegroom, Gurn Hanson, they find a dead woman practically on their doorstep. Kauai breezes may be soft, but there are gale force winds of accusation against Gurn. Will Lee find the real killer before her new hubby gets sent to a Hawaiian hoosegow?

Books

The reviews are in!
Bestthrillers.com - The Culinary Art of Murder "The Bottom Line: This cozy mystery has it all – romance, suspense, comedy and a detective you’ll fall hard for."